Ambulation for the in-hospital patient is a common occurrence. In fact early ambulation of the post-surgical patient has been shown to decrease respiratory morbidity in the post operative period. However, the patients in most need of early ambulation are usually those who have intravenous (IV) infusions in place. Ambulation for such patients can be difficult since they are usually required to push a wheeled IV pole having a large IV fluid bag attached. The IV pole usually is quite tall in order to establish a sufficient pressure gradient while the patient is in the upright position. Also, the pole must have a wide base to increase its stability.
There are many instances where it is desirable to attach one or more pieces of equipment together to form a movable assembly. For example, hospital patients are generally placed in a wheeled hospital bed so that the patients can be moved from one location to another, such as to and from various hospital wards. These patients often have one or more pieces of medical equipment located near the bed for providing various treatments. One such piece of equipment is an intravenous drip bag mounted on a pole extending from a wheeled base or cart (IV pole). When transporting a patient it is usually preferable to keep the IV pole with the patient so as to maintain the flow of solution from the drip bag to the patient. However, transporting a patient coupled to an IV sometime require additional medical personnel to ensure that the IV pole safely accompanies the patient.
The height of the pole and the breadth of the base can lead to difficult and dangerous ambulation conditions for the patient. Numerous incidents had occurred associating patient and/or visitor injuries resulting from such ambulatory IV poles. Aside from the dangers associated with the use of such IV poles for ambulatory patients, these poles also lack convenience. For example, it is difficult to carry items, such as cafeteria trays, while pushing such an IV pole.
Accordingly, in order to eliminate the need for the additional personnel, there is a need for improved IV delivery systems that are, for example specially adapted for ambulatory patients. Such improved systems would ideally provide added safety and convenience for the patient.